Medi-Cal Planning & Asset Protection

Medi-Cal Planning & Asset Protection Near You

If you are concerned about Medi-Cal recovery, Susan has been successful in helping many elderly adults with the complicated and critical process of Medi-Cal Planning and Asset Protection.

Medi-Cal Asset Protection generally takes one of two forms:

Crisis planning:This applies when you or a loved one has already been admitted to a nursing home or is about to be admitted. I have a quick response system in place in Los Angeles for crisis Medi-Cal planning, and can help you get answers quickly. I can often tell you within hours, not days, whether I can save you money. If you have a medical emergency that qualifies you for Medi-Cal, I can help you take immediate steps to protect your assets, while remaining eligible for benefits.

Proactive Planning – This entails planning ahead to make sure you will be eligible for Medi-Cal while still protecting your assets for your spouse or children. The bottom line is that you don’t have to go broke from in home or nursing home care. The law allows people to keep their homes and much of their money- if they know how, but it is critical to have the assistance of an expert like me who knows how to do it.

“The Look Back Period ” In California, if an applicant for Medi-Cal (for nursing home care) gives away assets for less than fair market value e.g. a gift, the eligibility worker will deny benefits up to 30 months. This means that depending on the size of the gift or transfer, the applicant might have to wait 2.5 years until he or she can apply. In the meantime, the applicant has no money for care since it was transferred. This doesn’t have to happen if there is a plan in place. This entails planning ahead to make sure you will be eligible for Medi-Cal while still protecting your assets for your spouse or children. The bottom line is that you don’t have to go broke from in home or nursing home care. The law allows people to keep their homes and much of their money- if they know how, but it is critical to have the assistance of an elder law attorney who knows how to strategically and lawfully accomplish your goals.

There are two distinct programs within Medi-Cal:

The first program is the “Medical” Benefit, which acts as a health insurance benefit. The asset qualification depends on single or married status.

The second program is the “Long Term Care” entitlement which will cover medical expenses but also help with Skilled Nursing Facility expenses and Hospice in most cases.

***If both spouses are in a nursing home their joint non-exempt assets cannot exceed $3000.00. If only one spouse needs nursing home care the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (how much the couple may have in non- exempt assets) is $126,420.

An example of an exempt asset, meaning one that will not be counted for Medi-Cal eligibility is the house you live in, one car, IRAs as long as the minimum mandatory distributions are being taken, a pre-paid burial plot, a term policy with a face value of no more than $1500.00 as well as assets held by an irrevocable trust. This confuses many people who think that because their assets are held by their trust they are unavailable. That is not the case.

Most trusts are revocable living trusts meaning whoever established the trust can revoke it, change its terms or spend everything that the trust owns on a whim.

An irrevocable trust takes those rights away. Since the assets are unavailable to the creator, they are unavailable for purposes of qualifying for Medi-Cal. Medi-Cal for long term care also requires a share of cost. That means that all of the institutionalized person’s income except $35.00 will go to the facility before Medi-Cal will kick in any subsidy. Where there are two spouses, the non-institutionalized spouse is entitled to keep all of his/her income, even if it is $10,000 a month. At a minimum, that spouse is entitled to $3,160.50.

This is called the minimum Monthly Maintenance Allowance. Before the institutionalized spouse’s share of cost is taken, the stay at home spouse will get an allocation of his/her income to bring the stay at homes spouse’s up to $3,160.50. If there is not enough income to do so, there is a way to keep more exempt assets so that they can be invested to create a larger income stream.

Medi-Cal Asset Protection Attorney

Look no further than the offices of Susan B Geffen when it’s time to protect your assets. Having an experienced asset protection lawyer to guide you through this complicated process is a must. Give Susan a call now(310) 406-0608. With an experienced Medi-Cal Asset Protection attorney near you, your chances of qualifying for Medi-Cal and protecting assets is greatly improved.

Susan B. Geffen has helped hundreds of families with their estate planning. Is a Living Trust just for the wealthy? No. If you own a home, have children, wish to leave your assets to whomever you choose, then you should consider having a living trust prepared for you.

Many of Susan’s clients ask her about Conservatorships. It is a serious process and it takes a very knowledgeable and experience attorney to evaluate whether or not a conservatorship is realistic and/or necessary.

Susan B. Geffen has been looking out for the elderly for almost 3 decades as an elder law attorney, gerontologist, and former law professor. She is the author of the book, “Take That Nursing Home and Shove It!”

Disputes often arise after an individual dies and their estate is being administered by the named trustee. This is especially so when when there are substantial amounts of money involved or when family conflict is present.

If a disabled individual receives a lump sum inheritance, they will lose all of the public benefits that have supported them during their lifetime until such time that that inheritance is spent down to a qualifying amount, usually $2000.00.

Susan B. Geffen has helped hundreds of families with their estate planning. Is a Living Trust just for the wealthy? No. If you own a home, have children, wish to leave your assets to whomever you choose, then you should consider having a living trust prepared for you.

Susan B. Geffen has helped hundreds of families with their estate planning. Is a Living Trust just for the wealthy? No. If you own a home, have children, wish to leave your assets to whomever you choose, then you should consider having a living trust prepared for you.

Contact Susan

Call Susan today (310) 406-0608 or send her a message by filling out the form below.

Testimonial

My parents and I retained Susan Geffen’s legal services to navigate through the Medi-Cal process and to preserve my parent’s assets. The process was long and hard, but Susan hung in there with us, even when my parents seemed reluctant and indecisive. Susan showed her professionalism and concern for the elderly by continuing to provide legal services and guidance without payment during a period between the two phases of our journey. I would recommend Susan to anyone in need of legal services relating to the elderly and elder care.